Reducing Credit Hour Requirement for Edith Nourse Rogers Stem Scholarship

Floor Speech

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Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2196. This bill, which is introduced by an outstanding new member of our committee, Representative Barr of Kentucky, would clarify the eligibility for the Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship program.

This program, enacted as part of the Forever GI Bill, authorizes extra GI bill funding to help veterans complete their undergraduate degrees in a STEM field.

Mr. Speaker, we all know about the need to fill vacancies for high- paying jobs in the STEM field. The Smithsonian Science Education Center projected that, in 2018, 2.4 million STEM jobs went unfilled. This program is critical to ensure that veterans are the ones who fill these vacancies. However, because of the way the law was drafted, most students are prevented from using this new benefit due to a technical glitch that excludes all but a few STEM programs.

With this program going live on August 1, just over a month from now, I am grateful to Representative Barr for quickly stepping up to the plate and offering this bill to fix the law's language. Hopefully, with cooperation from our friends in the Senate, we can make this change before August.

I encourage all Members to support H.R. 2196.

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